8 arrested in drug sweep; guns seized

Thursday

Jan 31, 2008 at 6:00 AM

By Thomas Caywood TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Acting on information from a wiretap, strike teams composed of federal agents and state and city police raided six homes in Worcester yesterday morning, seizing drugs and firearms and arresting eight men, officials said.

The early morning searches turned up five handguns, about 100 grams of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, Percocet, methadone, a large stash of cash and other drug paraphernalia, said Special Agent Anthony Pettigrew of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

More arrests are likely to follow, he said.

“Often a take-down like today isn’t the end, it’s the beginning,” Special Agent Pettigrew said yesterday. “Anytime you can get that amount of drugs off the street, and guys with guns because violence and drugs go together, it’s a good operation. This was a good example of cooperative law enforcement.”

The eight men nabbed in the sweep, all but one of whom live in Worcester, range in age from 18 to 33. They were arraigned in Central District Court yesterday on various drug and gun charges, and all eight are charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws. A prosecutor said some were the original targets of the investigation while others were overheard planning drug deals with the targets on the tapped telephone.

Several of the people arrested had lengthy criminal records, according to court records. One of the men, Alan J. Kapulka, 33, of 61 Lake St., Apt. 61R, in Webster, was sentenced to 9 to 12 years in Walpole State Prison in 1995 after pleading guilty to his role in an armed robbery in which alleged gang members stole 29 handguns and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition from a safe in a Fairmont Avenue home, according to published reports from the time.

Mr. Kapulka is now charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws. He was held on $15,000 cash bail yesterday.

On Tuesday night, just after 11 p.m., members of the police task force intercepted a call to Rafael E. Quinones, 28, of 78 Pilgrimage St., Apt. 2, in which two other city men arrested yesterday allegedly arranged to buy a large amount of cocaine, Assistant District Attorney Terrence M. Reidy said in court.

The two men emerged from the house, which was under police surveillance, without any drugs because they allegedly objected to the cocaine’s “poor quality,” Mr. Reidy said. When police moved in, they found roughly 50 grams of cocaine, marijuana and a .357-caliber handgun with 21 rounds of ammunition in the house, he said.

Mr. Quinones is charged with using a firearm in a felony, subsequent offense; two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card; possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to violate controlled substance laws. His bail was set at $50,000 cash.

A court-appointed lawyer who represented Mr. Quinones at yesterday’s arraignment said his client is married with three young children and works as a barber in the city.

In one of the other searches, police found a .38-caliber revolver with five rounds of ammunition and 11 bags of marijuana weighing roughly 2 pounds, prosecutors said.

Brandon Hatfield-Cofske, 19, of 20 Maxwell St., Apt. 2, was also held on $50,000 cash bail. He is charged with using a firearm in a felony, two counts of possession or ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

District Court Judge David B. Locke set cash bail amounts of $1,000 t o $25,000 for the other defendants. They are:

• Jonathan A. Kapulka, 29, 9 Whitney St., Apt. 9, charged with using a firearm in a felony, two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card, a firearm violation with a prior violent or drug crime, a drug violation within 1,000 feet of a school and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Bail was set at $25,000 cash.

• Jason V. Tonelli, 32, 24 Fruit St., Apt. D, charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws as well as with multiple warrants for motor vehicle offenses. Bail was set at $15,000 cash.

• Allan Nieves, 24, 42 Upsala St., Apt. 3, charged with using a firearm in a felony, two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a drug violation within 1,000 feet of a school and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Bail was set at $10,000 cash.

• John J. Polydores, 25, of 701 Main St., charged with possession of marijuana and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Bail was set at $10,000 cash.

• Krystian K. Gubernat, 17, 20 Wabash Ave., Apt. 3, charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Bail was set at $1,000 cash.

Further information on the locations of the other raids was not available yesterday.